Door-check.



No. 658.533. Patntad Sapt. 25, I500.

D. SCHUYLER.

DOOR CHECK (Application filed Apr. 3, 1899.!

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(No Model.)

TNE Norms PETERS 00., MOTMJTHQ. msmuamN u c No. 658,533. Patehted Sept: 25, I900.

n. SCHUYLER.

DOOR CHECK.

(Applicgt ionfilegi Ap r. 3, 1899., s Sheets-$heat 2 Mam % I flaw No. 658,533. Patented Sept. 25, I900.

D. SCHUYLER.

DOOR CHECK.

(Application filed Apr. 3, 1899.) BL) 3 Sheets-Shani 3. m2.

m: Noam: PETERS co.. PNOTO-LITHO; wAsmncnon. u. c.

TATES lNrrn PATENT FFIC' E.

DANIEL sonuvtnn, OF SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR To THE PERFECT sL'IoINe DOOR COMPANY, OE Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

DOOR-CHECK.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 658,533, dated September 25, 1900.

Application filed April 3, 1899. serial No. 711,599. (No model.)

To (Z6 whom, it may concern.-

Beit known that I, DANIEL SCHUYLER, residing at San Diego,in the county of San Diego and State of California, have invented a new and useful Door-Check, of which the following is a specification.

The automatic and gravity sliding doors referred to for which this cushion is especially adapted are doors such as the door described IO in my application for patent for automatic sliding doors filed June 9, 1898, Serial No. 683,029, to issue April 11, 1899. Said door closes by gravity, being hung on an inclined rail,so that the door has a slight vertical movement in opening and closing. My device, however, is applicable for use as a cushion for any moving body which moves to and from a fixed stop or jamb.

A further object of my invention is to provide a cushion which can be easily and quickly adjusted to afiord any desired resistance for any size or weight of door or other device and which will cushion the door as it closes, so as to prevent any noise.

Further objects of my invention are dura bility of construction and the operating of the latch in such a manner that there is practically no leverage or friction to cause the parts to click or work hard.

My device is constructed with the purpose of avoiding springs and to make all the parts readily accessible without injury to the woodwork and with but little loss of time; also, to provide for easily putting the device in place 5 without the aid of skilled workmen.

In cushions for doors it is only necessary that the same shall operate to check the door at the latter part of its closing movement, and in carrying out my invention it is neces- 40 sary to provide means for bringing the airpiston to its outward position when the door is opened, so that it will always be ready to receive the stroke of the door when the door is closing. I provide means for automatically setting the piston in its outward position.

My invention comprises the combination, with a air-cushion barrel, of a piston-head in the barrel, a piston-rod connected to the head and extending from the barrel and provided with a catch and with a stop, a moving part to engage the stop and provided with a latch to engage the catch, and a slide carried by the piston-rod and having a limited movement therealong and a limited movement with relation to the barrel and provided with means for disengaging the latch and catch at the close of the movement of the piston.

In order to allow for any rise and fall of the door on account of the inclined movement thereof and also for the purpose of accom- 6o modating any slight accidental displacement of the door or other moving body, I slope the contacting face of'the movingpart or of the piston-rod or of both and pivot the pistonrod to its piston, so that when the moving part contacts withthe end of the piston-rod the end of the piston-rod can rise slightly. An advantage to be gained thereby is that this lifts the piston-rod from its stationary rest, so that the piston-rod does not slide .upon the support. This avoids friction, which otherwise might occur to impede the operation of the device. It is desirable that the movements of the piston be accomplished with as little friction as possible, so that the resistance which is Oder-ed by the device is produced as largely as possible by the compression of the air only. In this connection I have provided an improved air-cushion piston, which broadly comprises a head com-' posed of a metal or other rigid plate having an air-passage therethrough and provided with perforations, a piston-rod fastened to the plate, a backing of leather or like material on one side of the plate, plugs in the perforations and fastened to the backin g, and a flap of leather or other flexible material fastened to the plugs and arranged to cover the air-passage and to allow the air to pass freely between the flap and the plate when the piston is drawn outward, the flap closing the air-passage when the piston is forced inward. The purpose of the plugs inthe holes in the metal plate is to afford-means for cementing the leather flap at those points. 5 With relation to adjusting the resistance of the air-cushion to adapt the device for heavier or lighter doors, I provide the barrel of the air-cushion with an tattlet-tube, communicating therewith rearward of the piston and extending thence forward to or near the front end of the barrel and there provide with an outlet, and I provide a rotary valve for regulating the outlet. The end of the valve-piece is preferably flush with the faceplate and provided with a notch, so that without removal of any of the parts'the resistance can be adjusted by turning the rotary valve with a screw-driver.

The accompanyingdrawings illustrate my invention.

Figure 1 is a fragmental perspective view broken away in parts and showing the device as applied for a gravity sliding door.

The parts are shown in position just before. contact of the parts when the door is closing. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of thedevice. Dotted lines indicate diiferent stages of operation. Fig. 3 is a plan, partly in section, on line 3 3, Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the portion of the appliance which is attached to the door-post. Fig. 5 is a section of the barrel and afront elevation ofthe piston. of section. Fig. 6 is a view of the inner end of the piston, a portion of the leather flap being broken away. Fig. 7 is a fragmental view of the edge of the door to show the clutch and its case in the door.

sure screwed to the tube and provided with;

an outlet 1) to communicate with the outlet ct of the tube and provided at the end with a slot b for a screw-driver, so that the closure can be readily turned to open or close the communication between the outlets. sure preferably consists of a hollow externally-threaded plug, as shown, with the out-.

let leading from the cavity through the screwthreaded wall.

0 indicates the face-plate of the barrel.

The face-plate projects laterally from the barrel and is provided with holes therethrough for screws 0 for fastening the plate to the face of the door-jamb D, into which a hole at is bored to chamber the barrel, a channel cl being made at the upper side of the hole to receive the vent-tube a.

E indicates thepiston-head.

F indicates the piston-rod, hinged on ahorizontalaxis or pin 6 to the head at the rear end and normally resting on the face-plate O. f indicates a catch at the front end of the piston-rod.

G indicates a piston-rod slide carried ,by the piston-rod and having a limited movement therealongand a limited movement with relation to the barrel.

g g indicate two stop-pins fixed to the slide Gand playingin slots f and f" in the pistonrod. The stop-pin g is on the outside of the Line 5 5, Figs. 2 and 3, show the line Fig. 8 is a section on line 8 8, Fig. 3. Fig. 9 is an elevation of The 010-.

ceases face-plate O and the stop-pin g is on the inside of the face-plate C, so that on the outward movement the stop-pin 9 will engage with the inside of the face-plate and on the inward movement thd stop-pin will engage with the outside of the face-plate.

H indicates a stop fixed on the piston-rod F. The stop is preferably formed of a metal plate h, faced with a padding-washer of leather or other suitable material It. The parts are so proportioned and the stop g is so placed with relation to the end of the piston as to stop the piston-rod before the piston reaches the end of the barrel, and the stop H is so placed that when the piston is at rest at its fully-inserted position, as shown in solid lines in Fig. 2, the face of the stop will bear against or engage the face-plate of the case I set in the edge of the sliding door I, and said case is provided with a gravitylatch 75, adapted to engage the catch f, carried by the piston-rod G Suitable means for disengaging the gravity latch and catch at the close of the outward movement of the piston are provided in one or more inclined faces'such as the face 1 on the slide G and the face 2 on the gravity-latch, which faces 1 and 2 are to engage each other. While in the drawings I have shown two faces inclined withrelationto the direction of movement, it is to be understood that one or the other of these faces might be horizontal and the work accomplished; but I prefer that both faces be sloped in order to accomplish a greater lift in a given lengthwise movement and with a given inclination from the horizontal.

The piston-rod E is preferably pivoted to the piston, at the rear end thereof, by a pivot e, so that the front end thereof may be raised from contact with the face-plate C. The piston-rod and the slide G are beveled underneath at their front ends, as at g and f, and the iface-plate of the case is slotted, as at 3, to receive the ends of the slide and piston-rod, and the lower margin 3' of the slot is arranged to engage with the beveled face g of the slide,so as to lift the same slightly, and .thereby'raise the slide and piston-rod from the face-plate, and thus prevent their rubbing thereon as the piston is moved into the cylinder A. Fmthermore, as thegravity sliding door .moves toward the jamb D it constantly lowers, and the piston-rod and slide are thus lowered until when the door is fully closed they rest on the lower margins of theslots in the respective face-plates of the case I and cylinder A.

The door-cushion piston comprises a head composed of ametal or other rigid plate 4, having an air-passage 5 therethrough and provided withperforations 6, a backing 7, of leather or like material, on one side of the plate, plugs 8, inserted in the holes and comented to the backing, anda flap 9, of leather or other suitable material, fastened to the plugs and extending over the air-passage to IIO close the same when the piston is pushed in, but to move away from the plate (at the parts between the plugs) sufficiently when the piston is being drawn out to allow free passage of the air through the air-passage 5. The backing 7, above referred to, to which the plugs are cemented, is preferably composed of the sucker of the valve, and this is supported by plates 10, of leather, pasteboard, or any other suitable material, to fill the space between the plate 4 and the plate 14 of the piston-head. 11 indicates a thimble projecting from the plate 4, and onto which the plate 1% is screwed to clamp the body-plates 10 of the piston head firmly together and againstthe sucker or backing 7. The flap 9 is preferably quite thin in order to offer as little resistance as possible to the passage of air when the piston is drawn out, and it is reinforced, as at 9', over the air-passage to enable itto resist the air-pressure when the piston moves in.

The screw-threads of closure B are preferably fine, so that the rotation necessary to open or close the outlet will not materially shift the closure endwise. The threads firmly hold the plug against the air-pressure.

The piston-rod and the slide are beveled on the upper faces at the outer end, as at f and g", respectively, and the front end of the gravity-latch t is beveled, as at 2", to engage with the beveled faces g' andf, so that the gravity-latch will be lifted by the slide and piston-rod when the same contact therewith. The gravity-latch is pivoted at the rear end by a pivot 2'. By reason of the beveled faces g" and g the free end of the slide Gis pointed, as at g, and this point serves to indicate the proper place at which to set the case I, in which the gravity-latch is mounted.

In practice to set the device the hole d, with channel (1, is made in the door-jamb D and the air-cushion barrel A is inserted in place, with the tube a in the channel d and the face-plate 0 against the face of the door-jamb D. The face-plate is then secured in place by the screws 0.

It is preferable that when the door is closed the piston-rod shall be practically horizontal and at rest on the rest 0 of the face-plate as well as on the rest 3 of the moving part. As the door opens, it rises, by reason of the inclined rail, (not shown,) and therefore the faces g and 3, or one of them, must be sloped enough to allow for their difference of level when first they contact at the closing movement of the door. The point 9 on the end of the slide serves as aconvenient means for marking a point on the door from which to locate the hole for the case. To make such mark, the piston-rod and slide are pushed fully in, as shown in solid lines in Fig. 2, and the door is then closed until it strikes the point, and is thereby marked. The mechanic will-then make his measurements from such mark. The mechanic will then bore a hole 12 to the depth necessary to chamber the case I,

and then he will chisel out at 12' to allow the gravity-latch to lift to pass over the face 9 of the slide when the same enters or leaves the case. Then the case I is inserted into place and fastened by screws 13. The cushion is now ready for use. However, it may be that the resistance of the air will be greater or less than that required by the weight of the door or other moving part for which the cushion is provided. The person desiring to adjust this resistance willopen the door, so as to have access to the slot b of the closure, and if it is desired to make the piston act less freely the closure B will be turned, by means of a screwdriver, to close the outlets b a" sufliciently to give the required resistance. If the resistance be too great, the closure will be turned to open the outlet. 1

When the door is allowed to close, the lower margin 3 of the slot in the faceplate of the case comes into contact with the face g of the slide, thus raising the end of the slide and bringing it and the end of the piston-rod into the recess therefor in the case, and at the same time the upper face 9 of the slide lifts the latch 't', and this slides over the ends of the slide and piston-rod. The face-plate of the case I engages the front face of the pad h of the stop H, and the impulse of the door is applied to force the piston E inward against the resistance of the air in the barrel A. Theair escaping from the barrel allows the door to fully close. At the latter inward movement of the piston-rod and slide the stop-pin g engages the outer face of the faceplate O and holds the slide while the piston-rod is moved on inward until the door is fully closed. As the piston-rod and gravity-latch move inward with relation to the slide G the hook t" of the gravity-latch is brought rearward of the catch f of the piston-rod, and the hook drops behind such catch into the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 2. Then the door is opened, hook 2 of the gravity-latch pulls outward on catchf of the piston-rod and draws the piston outward until the stop-pin g of the slide engages the inside of the face-plate..C. Then the further movement of the gravity-latch pulls'the piston farther outward; but at the same instant the faces 1 2 ofthe slide and gravity-latch respectively engage with each other, and the gravity-latch is thereby lifted from its engagement with the hook f, and the door proceeds onward, leaving the piston in its outward position and the slide and piston-rod in position at first occupied and the cushion-stop ready to receive the door on its return.

J indicates a leather cushioning band around the rear end of case I to form a cush- IIO ion,against which the rear end j of the grav- Now, having described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. The combination with an air-cushion barrel, of a piston-head in the barrel; a piston-rod connected to the head and extending from the barrel and provided with a catch and with a stop; a moving part to engage and fastened to the backing; and a flap of leather or other flexible material fastened to the plugs.

3. In an air-cushion, a piston-retracting clutch device carried by the door and comprising a case set in the door; a latch pivoted in the case and extending below the pivot to engage the rear of the case to hold the pivot extended in position to catch the piston.

4. In an air-cushion for sliding doors, a piston-retracting clutch carried by the door and comprising a case set in the door; a latch pivoted in the case and extending below the pivot; and a cushioning-band around the rear wall of the case to cushion the said downward extension.

DANIEL SOI-IUYLER.

Witnesses:

JAMES R. TOWNSEND, F. M. TOWNSEND. 

